Yiftah Shapir: Launch Of Israel's TecSAR Satellite

The Launch Of Israel's Tecsar
Satellite

The Israeli
TecSAR satellite was launched on January 21 by an Indian
Polar Space Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C10 from the Satish Dhawan
Space Centre at the Sriharikota range in south-east India.
It entered orbit about 80 minutes after launch. Less than
two weeks later, on January 31st, it sent its first images.
The photographs, which were taken at night in stormy
weather, were said by Israel Aerospace Industry personnel to
be of exceptional quality.

TecSAR was built by IAI's
Mabat space facility and it carries components from Elta and
other Israeli companies (Rafael, Tadiran, Spectralink and
Rokar). It joins other IAI surveillance satellites already
in space - the Ofeq-7 that was launched in June 2007 and the
Eros-B launched in April 2006. However, TecSAR is unique in
several respects. First of all, it uses Synthetic Aperture
Radar technology (SAR) to provide images of the earth's
surface. Since the images are generated by radar rather than
by visible light, it can perform at night as well as during
daytime and it can see through clouds. The satellite's
operational specifications are classified but it can
reportedly provide high-resolution images sufficient for
military intelligence needs. The satellite can operate in a
number of modes, including wide area scans, and provide both
strip and point coverage. Each mode naturally provides a
different degree of resolution. Aiming can be done by
electronic steering of the radar beam or by physical
steering of the satellite itself. These capabilities have
been packed into a relatively small package. TecSAR weighs
about 300 kilograms, of which only 100 are payload. The low
mass allows for operational agility - which means that
operators can redirect its antenna from one target to
another very quickly.

Another unusual feature was the
choice of launch vehicle. Until now, Israel has preferred to
launch its Ofeq-series surveillance satellites by itself,
using the Shavit satellite launcher. That entailed a number
of benefits. First of all, there was the advantage of
independence from any foreign participation. Independent
launch capability, especially in time of crisis when Israel
might be subjected to an embargo, could turn out to be
vital. Secondly, a satellite launch capability is an
important element of Israel's deterrent power, since it can
always be translated into a surface-to-surface missile
capability. Indeed, foreign analysts have long assessed that
the Shavit can also carry a one-ton warhead over a range of
4000 kilometers. Thirdly, satellite launch capability is a
major component of Israel's image as a leading technological
power in the world, because very few states have such a
capability.

However, the use of the Shavit also involved
some drawbacks. The most important was the constraint on
possible satellite orbits. Any launch from Israeli territory
must be directed westwards, towards the sea, in order to
prevent the launcher's first stages (or the satellite
itself, in case of a malfunction) from falling on populated
areas or on foreign territory. A westward launch, i.e.,
against the direction of the earth's rotation, seriously
restricts the weight of the satellite that the launch
vehicle can carry. In the past, Israel also experienced
several failures - the most recent example being the
attempted Ofeq-6 launch in March 2004 - though it should be
noted that such failures are not rare in the launch industry
and a failure rate of several percent is considered almost
standard. In such cases, security links and the operational
experience of another partner can allow alternative launches
when needed.

Israel has used foreign commercial rockets
in the past for a variety of reasons. Its Amos
communications satellites were all launched by commercial
boosters because Israel has neither the capability nor the
geographic location needed to put communications satellites
into space. (Communications satellites are placed in
geosynchronous orbit at a fixed point over the equator and
are much heavier than the Ofeq surveillance satellites.)
Moreover, the Eros-series commercial imagery satellites,
similar to the Ofeq series, were also sent into orbit by
commercial launchers. (The two EROS satellites used Russian
commercial launchers to reach near-polar orbits that permit
almost global coverage.)

The TecSAR represents the first
Israeli use of the Indian PSLV launcher, which makes
possible an orbit that could not be reached from Israel:
altitude 450-580 kilometers, with an inclination of 41
degrees. As a result, TecSAR cruises from west to east,
unlike all the surveillance satellites launched from Israel
itself.

For the Indians, this launch was an important
step in introducing the PSLV into the commercial launcher
market. The PSLV was inaugurated in 1994 and has now had 11
successful launches, although the first commercially
significant launch took place only in April 2007. It is
noteworthy that because of strong domestic opposition in
India to excessively close security cooperation with Israel,
the Indians stressed the purely commercial character of the
launch.

TecSAR undoubtedly constitutes a technological
breakthrough for Israel's defense industry. It is an
advanced satellite with few competitors in the world. It is
unique in its capabilities and in its size (similar American
surveillance satellites are much heavier). And for the
defense establishment in Israel, it provides coverage of the
whole of the Middle East. Together with the Ofeq-7, the
TecSAR will make possible a larger number of "visits" to
points of interest at any given time and will permit
night-time and all-weather
coverage.

ENDS

**************

INSS Insight is published through the
generosity of Sari and Israel Roizman,
Philadelphia

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